If you want a single extension that does it all, Simple Video Downloader is your best bet. This isn't just a YouTube downloader—it supports Reddit, X (Twitter), SoundCloud, TED, and many other sites, making it a versatile tool for content archiving.
While convenient, Firefox plugins for playlist downloading are often fragile due to YouTube's constant attempts to block them. For a single playlist, they work great. However, for heavy users who need 4K quality, metadata preservation, and reliability, a desktop program is usually superior to a browser extension.
Always scan downloaded files with antivirus software, and never download executable files (.exe) promoted by suspicious pop-up ads on video downloader sites.
: FastTube Downloader requires a desktop application to be installed on your system. The browser extension communicates with this desktop app via native messaging to handle the actual downloads. youtube playlist downloader firefox plugin
: Video DownloadHelper offers a "Companion Application" (CoApp). Installing this alongside the Firefox plugin unlocks aggregate downloading, allowing you to bypass browser restrictions and download complete playlists smoothly.
If browser extensions fail due to YouTube updates, these desktop tools are more robust for large playlists: 9 top YouTube video downloaders | Tested in 2026 - Setapp
Excellent for organizing large libraries, allowing users to group playlists into folders. How to Install a Playlist Downloader in Firefox Open Firefox and visit the Firefox Add-ons website. If you want a single extension that does
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| Extension | Playlist Support | Needs External Tools | Platform | Open Source | Ease of Use | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | | ✅ Yes | yt-dlp + FFmpeg | All (desktop) | No (but uses OSS) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | GrabIt! | ✅ Full (channels too) | yt-dlp web service | All (desktop) | ✅ GPL-3.0 | ⭐⭐⭐ | | YouTube Downloader | ✅ Yes | Companion software | All (desktop) | ✅ GitHub | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | FastTube Downloader | ✅ With folders | Desktop app | All (desktop) | ✅ MIT | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | YT Downloader | ✅ Yes | yt-dlp + FFmpeg | Windows only | ✅ GPL-3.0 | ⭐⭐ | | Grabby | ✅ Yes | Grabby Toolkit + DM | All (desktop) | ✅ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | StephYDX Downloader | ⚠️ No | YDX desktop app | All (desktop) | ❌ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
This is one of the oldest and most reliable download utilities available for Firefox. For a single playlist, they work great
You might be tempted to use online “YouTube to MP3” websites. Here is why that is a terrible idea for playlists:
# Using pip (Python's package manager) pip install yt-dlp
